This Wednesday, August 23rd, at 4:30pm, the SMAA conference will descend upon Bonny Eagle High School for the SMAA Relays.  Typically, all 17 teams from the conference attend the preseason meet, which consists of many heats of a 1¾ mile race across the campus.  The heats begin every 5-7 minutes, with each team sending off one runner per heat.  After 7 varsity heats, a freshman race and a JV race follow.   

Schedule

Girls Individuals to Watch

#3- Addy Thibodeau – Bonny Eagle

Thibodeau won last year by 36 seconds.  Could the course record be in jeopardy?

#6- Samantha Moore – Portland

Moore did not compete at this meet last year, but the 1¾ mile distance suits her well. 

#10- Allie Hesler – Bonny Eagle

Hesler won the #3 race last year and had the 4th fastest time of the day.

#12- Marina Violette – Bonny Eagle

Violette was just a freshman last year but competed in the varsity division, winning the #5 race and running the 7th best time of the day.  Her time would have won the freshman race by about 30 seconds. 

#14- Kallie Warner – Bonny Eagle

Warner took 2nd in the #2 race and was 15th overall.

#15- Sarah McClellan – Marshwood

McClellan won the #2 race and was 5th overall.

#19- Ava Chadbourne – Portland

Chadbourne was 16th overall and was 2nd in the #5 race.

#20- Kyleigh Record – Scarborough

Record did not compete at this meet last year.

Maia Endicott – Portland

Endicott did not compete at this meet last year.

Bailey Shaw – Bonny Eagle

Shaw won the freshman race last year.

Iris McCain – Deering

McCain finished 5th in the #1 race and ran the 10th best time in the varsity division.

Maeve Ginevan – Falmouth

Ginevan was just 32nd in the varsity division last year but went on to finish 17th in Class A.

Girls Teams to Watch

#1 Bonny Eagle

Bonny Eagle won last year by over 2 minutes, with an average of 11:10 per runner.  They should win easily yet again.

#6 Portland

Portland only ran 4 girls in the varsity division last year, but also had 2 of the top 4 freshmen and were without Moore.  They should finish highly this year.

#7 Falmouth

Falmouth was 3rd last year, and will hope to improve on that performance this year. Last year, they had the top 2 finishers in the JV race as well. 

#11 Marshwood

Marshwood was 2nd last year, but 4 of their 5 scorers are now gone.  They should finish in the top 5 this year.

#15 Kennebunk

The Rams were 4th last year and will hope to match that performance this year.

#21 Gorham

Gorham only had 4 girls compete in the varsity division last year, but should place highly this year if they have enough competitors.  

Girls Analysis

The #1 individual race should be very interesting as Thibodeau and Moore will go head-to-head.  In track, Moore is most comfortable with the 800m and 1600m distances, where the 3200m is Thibodeau’s go-to event. The 1¾ mile distance of this race is right in the middle, so you could make an argument for either runner as the favorite.  On the team side, the race for 2nd place between Portland and Falmouth is the one to watch.  

Boys Individuals to Watch

#1- Maddox Jordan – Noble

Jordan finished 2nd last year at this meet, but is coming off of a dominant outdoor track season.

#2- Nathan Blades – Portland

Blades won last year by 20 seconds in a time of 8:41.

#4- Xavier Lemieux – Bonny Eagle

Lemieux won the #2 race in 2022 and was 4th overall.

#12- Henri Rivard – Marshwood

Last year, Rivard ran in the #2 varsity section as a freshman and finished 7th in the combined results.

#13- Ben Prestes – Portland

Prestes took 5th overall last year (2nd in the #2 race).

#14- Ethan Keller – Scarborough

Keller finished 2nd in the #3 race last year and took 12th overall.

#17- Evan Small – South Portland

Small only ran 10:06 for 1.75 miles at this meet last year, then went on to run for 2 miles in the spring!

Tyler Gilbert – Bonny Eagle

Gilbert was 5th in the #1 race and 7th overall in 2022.

Rowan McDonald – Bonny Eagle

McDonald was 3rd in the #3 race last year and finished 15th overall.

Charlie Jacques – Portland

Jacques won the #3 race in 2022 and ran the 11th fastest time in the varsity division.

Harrison Dunne – Bonny Eagle

Dunne was 29th at this meet last year but went on to finish 18th in Class A at the end of the season.

Aran Johnson – Portland

Johnson took 3rd in the JV race last year. 

Ellis Wood – Deering

Wood was 2nd in the freshman race last year.

Boys Teams to Watch

#2- Portland

Portland won this meet last year and brings back all their scorers.

#4- Bonny Eagle

Like Portland, Bonny Eagle brings back all their scorers from this meet and will look to compete for the win after finishing 2nd last year by 46 seconds.

#8- Scarborough

Scarborough tied for 3rd last year with South Portland, but lose Adam Bendetson who finished  3rd as an individual last year.

#13- South Portland

South Portland tied for 3rd last year with Scarborough, but lost their top 2 finishers from last year’s meet.

#16- Gorham

Gorham finished 10th last year, but should have a more competitive team this year.

#18- Marshwood

Marshwood was 5th last year, and also had the winner of the freshman race, Nate Kelley, who will be moving up to the varsity race this year.

#19- Cheverus

Cheverus was 9th last year, but had two of the top freshman finishers last year who should help them in the varsity race this year. 

#21- Deering

Deering did not record a team score last year, but should have a solid squad this year.

Boys Analysis

Portland is the favorite to defend their team title, but teams like Bonny Eagle and Scarborough will attempt to challenge them.  After a summer of training, this meet is always a good check in point to see who has been talking and who has been training.  On the individual side, don’t be shocked if the winner brings down the course record.  An argument could be made for either Nathan Blades or Maddox Jordan as the favorite, but it is hard to pick against Jordan after his four individual state titles he picked up during indoor and outdoor track seasons.